"Break a motherfucker's table over the back of a couple of faggots and crack it in half."
--Eminem, "Rap God"

That was just the first gay-hating verse. It upsets me that after all this time -- since 2001, to be specific -- Eminem still insists on using hate speech against people like me in his music. Some may deem pop and hip-hop lyrics "unimportant," but music being a medium that I work in, I know firsthand the power that it wields to influence and affect lives (as I'm sure millions more can attest). Time and time again, Eminem has been informed about the negative impact that his hate speech has on the lives of the gay community, and although he's given some non-apologies to the likes of Anderson Cooper and issued platitudes about how he doesn't care what you are as long as you're "nice to me," he continues to create derogatory lyrics against us.

What upset me further was that Sia, an openly queer artist whom I deeply respect and have followed for 14 years, decided to write and sing a duet on the same album that features "Rap God." Sia is currently in the midst of several spectacular years in her career: She has written massive hits for Rihanna and Flo-Rida, co-wrote and sang David Guetta's "Titanium," and is in high demand for collaborations with major players like Beyoncé and Katy Perry, whose "Double Rainbow" with Sia is a highlight of her new album, Prism. So, how could she do this knowing Eminem's extensive anti-gay history and considering that she didn't need to work with him at this point, and especially during a time of horrible anti-gay bullying and LGBT suicides?

What do you think of the defense that Sia, who has been openly bisexual for years, mounted?